Lonny K. McDougal

He was born on March 7,1966 in Brooklyn, New York to the late William McDougal & Rhoda Ziselman.

Lonny McDougal was a true family man to the core. He was "crazy" for his family and also loved the world of business. Those were his passions. Creating a livelihood and making people happy -- and that includes his family pets, some of which he saved from the streets.

A caring husband, incredible father, grandfather, wonderful friend and businessman extraordinaire times 10. He lived every minute and every hour of each day for his family. He woke up every day happy to go to work. His day was all about what can I do for my family. If you became a good friend then you became family.

This translated over to his business life where he had an equal passion for creating and building businesses from scratch without having any experience in them.

One day he told me he had an idea: That there is no decent bagel in the Orlando area and people from NY missed their bagels, so he did the research and started a new business, "N.Y. Bagel and Deli". He did not need to get an MBA from a university. He could teach the courses. To start his bagel and deli business, Lonny found manufacturers and distributors in NY, he crossed-referenced prices, negotiated deals, and trucked everything down to Orlando, including the famous NY bagels.

I said, "Lonny what makes NY bagels so special?" He said, "It’s the water." Hence, the beginning of a bunch of NY Bagel and Delis in the Orlando, Florida area. Guts, brains, great business instincts, charm, and great at making friends & business connections. He was a natural. Once businesses were in progress and were doing well he would franchise a few or sell them off and keep a few.

When someone came at him with an attitude, he stayed calm as if he was sunning at the beach. That’s his way in business, and in his personal life. Before you knew it, he had a new friend or perhaps a business connection. He knew the "art of the deal" but, it was not fake -- it was Lonny -- calm and in control. It was in his DNA.

He brought family members into the businesses that were interested and taught them how to run and operate them. He would say, "Don't be afraid to fail your way to success. That’s how you learn. You don’t need a college education to be successful." His son, Danny, has been working with him from the beginning and still is running his Dad's business.

If you were one of his children, Lonny was Santa Claus. Not just at Christmas, but whenever you needed something. If you were his friend, he was there when you needed him. He would say to me, "Stan, I can't talk now, my kids need me."

I remember once when I was visiting with him, I remember driving down to Ft. Lauderdale from Orlando to visit a sick friend of his who was in rehab after major surgery. During the ride he got calls from his kids and that made his day. Lonny said, "Yes I will get it for you, and order it right now. Don't worry. Love you."

When Lonny visited NY to get things for his delis, often he would stay at my house. He would take me with him to his manufacturers in Brooklyn, Queens, or Long Island to make purchases and ship bagels, cakes, cookies or whatever was a symbol of NY foods to bring to his N.Y. Bagel and Delis in Orlando.

After his meeting with the owner, he would say, "Can you give my friend Stan a few bagels to take home?" The owner would say, "Where is your car?" When we got to my car, it was full of enough food to feed a small classroom of children. I had to give most of it away to neighbors. That’s Lonny, always thinking of people. Always!

He did everything with passion, but you couldn’t see it. He was low-key, smooth and in control. His actions showed us his passion. He was very even tempered, steady, chose his words carefully, rarely got riled up when things did not work out. But he got the job done. He was an American entrepreneur and fearless, even when things were going the wrong way. He could, for the most part, change its direction without breaking a sweat. He had optimism and solutions. These were not problems; these were challenges for him to conquer.

He was not afraid of failure, nor tarnished by success. At times, he would buy out a failing business for ten cents on the dollar and flip it for a profit. For example during the economic crisis of 2008 when people could not keep their homes or pay their mortgages, Lonny had another idea. He would buy out the furnishings from only nice homes, open up a warehouse in Orlando, and resell the furnishings to the public at a large discount. When the economy recovered, he would move on to other business opportunities.

Lonny did not only give to the community, but he also fed many as well. He was an advocate for the homeless.

His son Johnathan remembers a trip he took with Lonny and his brother Niko to New York. “He showed us where he grew up and had us take a picture on the stoop” It was the first he saw snow.

He loved being by the ocean and always talked about retiring there. So many wonderful memories were created with the family, on the many trips to the beach condo.

The most recent adventures were RVing, those were the best road trips. The children and grandchildren loved it the most. Especially, the road trip to the Strawberry Festival -- Leelan and Eva were so excited to spend the night on the RV. Lonny loved the adventure; but most importantly, that he was able to share it all with his family and friends.

We have lost a very special soul and will miss him dearly.

Lonny Keith McDougal was but one of a kind to be sure.

He blessed all of us with his presence.

Lonny was preceded in death by his dear parents.

He is survived by his wife, Simone McDougal; children, Daniel McDougal (Wendi McDougal), Kayla McDougal-Gonzalez (Axel Gonzalez), Nicholas McDougal, Johnathan McDougal, Justin Gandley, and Vincent Gandley (Alexandra Cruz); siblings, Jeffrey Lilley, Natalie McDougal-Franceschi, Michael McDougal, Brian McDougal, Ira McDougal, Jennifer McDougal-Wohlmaker, and Thomas Nicholson; grandchildren, Dominic McDougal, Julian McDougal, Liam McDougal, Leelan Gonzalez, and Eva Gonzalez; niece, Tisha Baldi; and nephew, David Baldi.

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